“Why can’t Black people be in a sci-fi space?”
New Netflix series Supacell follows a group of seemingly ordinary black Londoners who suddenly develop superpowers – and the show’s creator Rapman has revealed he hopes it will open the door for more sci-fi shows focused on black British characters.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Rapman – who previously wrote and directed the hit film Blue Story – explained how the genre had previously not provided too many opportunities for black creatives.
“If you actually look back at UK shows, when have you ever seen a UK sci fi – not that there’s a lot of them anyway – but with a Black cast?” he said.
“And even take out the UK, even going to the States, you could probably think of Black Panther. Or you could probably think of Black Lightning. The buck stops there, let’s be honest, it’s there. And it’s like… why can’t Black people be in a sci-fi space?”
He added: “So the hope is that this show does really well and it’s just the beginning. There’ll be others.”
Rapman also explained that the idea for the show came about because he wanted to see a superhero drama that was more grounded in real life – one where he could “believe these characters” and their actions.
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“Because if I get powers now, I’m not thinking to get spandex, cover my face, and go stop a bridge from falling down,” he said. “I will stop that bridge from falling down, but before I do that, can I quickly just get some money and sort out my life, which is a mess right now. And then I’ll sort that out.
“So for me, I never saw anyone doing that – it’s always like I’ve got these powers, we need to save the world. Like whoa, charity starts at home first, guys. So let’s just sort this out first.
“And I feel that’s what Supacell is, no one is trying to save the world. They’ve all got their own issues, their own problems. And they’re trying to deal with that. No one has even thought about being a superhero right now. So that’s the type of show I wanted to watch.”
Meanwhile, he also explained that shooting the show in London was “super important” given that nearly all superhero films and TV shows in the past have taken place across the Atlantic.
“Every single show with superpowers in the world… it’s in New York,” he said. “And I love New York, it’s a great city. But London is a great city as well. We’ve got everything New York has, but for some reason we don’t feel like our city is big enough to tell these stories.
“I was like, ‘Nah, I want to…’ So we’re gonna see South London really as it is, all the vibrancy, the attitude and personality – mixed with superpowers.”
Supacell is available to stream on Netflix now.
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